Seal hunting should resume under sustainable rules

Seal hunting should resume in the Faroe Islands if it can be managed on a biologically sustainable basis, Foreign and Fisheries Minister Bárður á Steig Nielsen said in a response to Løgting member Bjarni Hammer, KVF reports.

Nielsen said the administration had been asked to prepare legislation on seal hunting because the Faroe Islands currently has no such law.

The proposed law would aim to minimise disturbance to people, seals and nature. It would also provide the legal basis for protection measures, quotas, hunting seasons and designated hunting areas.

Under the Animal Welfare Act, it is illegal to shoot seals with a shotgun. The government must therefore also decide how people can gain access to legal firearms. Hunters would need training in seal hunting and firearm handling to ensure the activity is carried out safely, Nielsen said.

The current grey seal population is estimated at about 1,800 animals. The estimate is based on summer coastal counts conducted by the Faroese Marine Research Institute between 2018 and 2021 and again in 2026.

The population has grown in recent years. The highest recorded estimate was about 3,000 seals in 1963.